Israeli Food

I have come to realize that, since coming to Israel, my whole outlook on food has changed. My likes and dislikes have changed, my "staple" foods have shifted...It's partly because of the foods available and normally eaten here, and partly because of the other American people I'm around. Nonetheless, there have been changes.

Following are three very loosely organized lists:

1. Foods I was introduced to here in Israel. These are foods that, to the best of my knowledge, I never had before coming here, for whatever reason.

2. Foods I have come to like/love. This list includes foods that I liked before coming here but have learned to like even more, as well as foods that I previously disliked.

3. Foods that have become a staple. This includes foods that I perhaps more or less familiar with before coming here that have become a main part of my diet, either because I love them so much or because they are so readily available.

Foods I was introduced to:

Falafel - Ahh...the amazing fried chickpea burger...how I love thee!

Shwarma - I think I prefer falafel, but still amazing

Caramelized Onions - I really am not sure how I managed to avoid ever having these before Israel, but these could almost be in the third list. Here at HaShum we eat them with almost everything. I personally had them with two meals, just today.

Quinoa - Really, this is a South American thing, but somehow I learned about it here. Good source of protein, especially considering the scarcity of meat at my place.

Kohlrabi - Weird vegetable...but not bad.

Coconut Milk - Having never cooked with this before, I am still in awe of its amazingness...and need to do more experimentation with it soon.

Foods I have come to like/love:

Sage - In America I always liked sage in things like stuffing or chicken noodle soup. Here, the Bedouin put it in tea. I LOVE sage in tea.

Cilantro - I'm not sure how I managed to avoid using fresh cilantro until this year, but that seems to be the case. I don't think I was quite introduced to it here, but I have definitely come to love it more, in a variety of dishes, since my arrival.

Olives - I've always like the black, American-style of olive, but the green or the more bitter black olives were more problematic for me. At school last semester there were often olives in the dishes...and being too lazy to pick them out, I just ate them, and so began to be able to stand them. This year a couple of my flatmates love olives...so I've continued eating them...and I think I've come to actually like them...at least pretty close. I even ate some by choice on our field study this weekend!

Cucumbers - I find it hard to believe that until about a year ago, I never liked cucumbers. I avoided them like the plague. Here they are so readily available, and so tasty (compared to what's usually available in the states), it's almost silly to avoid eating them. They could fit in my third list.

Tomatoes - Similar story to the cucumbers. I grew up generally disliking tomatoes. Here, I eat the little ones like candy.

Sweet Potatoes - I still don't think I'm a fan of the whole "candied yam" thing with marshmallows and all that... But I have come to appreciate sweet potatoes in other dishes, like this recipe of Aubrey's, which also includes caramelized onions.

Lentils - I still don't use these all that often, but I like them a lot, and they're very common here.

Foods that have become a staple:

Pita - This may surprise you if the only pita you've ever had is the dry, gross, store-bought variety found in the states. That's nothing compared to the fresh, warm, soft pita you can buy daily on the streets of Israel. Hardly a day goes by where I don't have a pita or two.

Hummus - Ah, hummus (or chumus?)... What would pita be without good hummus? Again, hard to find good hummus in the States...but here, it's amazing.

Peppers - I liked peppers a lot before coming here...but here, the bell peppers are so cheap, so beautiful, so amazing...Yeah, they're pretty much a staple.

I'm sure there are other foods that have changed my life...but I'll stick with these for now.